Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 51.12
Liaison Matthew Williams
Submission Date June 30, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

University of Florida
OP-11: Biodiversity

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Liz Storn
Program Coordinator
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution own or manage land that includes or is adjacent to legally protected areas, internationally recognized areas, priority sites for biodiversity, and/or regions of conservation importance?:
Yes

A brief description of any legally protected areas, internationally recognized areas, priority sites for biodiversity, and/or regions of conservation importance on institution owned or managed land:

UF's Master Plan includes a conservation element covering the Conservation Areas on campus. There are 447 acres of wetland and upland areas on main campus in 31 Conservation Areas that are covered in 23 specific area plans that fall under the umbrella of the Conservation Area Land Management plan (CALM).


Has the institution conducted an assessment or assessments to identify endangered and vulnerable species with habitats on institution-owned or –managed land?:
Yes

Has the institution conducted an assessment or assessments to identify environmentally sensitive areas on institution-owned or –managed land?:
Yes

The methodology(-ies) used to identify endangered and vulnerable species and/or environmentally sensitive areas and any ongoing assessment and monitoring mechanisms:

Beginning in the fall of 2003 an ad-hoc working group of University staff, faculty, students and interested community members conducted tours of 25 campus Conservation Areas and 5 passive recreation areas in order to determine their current state and recommend improvements for each area. From these 30 areas that were visited 22 specific area plans have been developed (passive recreation areas were not included and some Conservation Area were grouped together) that outline issues and strategies for each Conservation Area. The recommendations from this working group formed the foundation of the CALM plan and specific area plans.

Classes, faculty and staff across campus continue to use the conservation areas for research, and we are working to generate an updated list of species found in the conservation areas.


A brief description of identified species, habitats and/or environmentally sensitive areas:

Descriptions of many of the conservation areas and typical species found can be found here: http://www.facilities.ufl.edu/planning/calm/plans.php


A brief description of plans or programs in place to protect or positively affect identified species, habitats and/or environmentally sensitive areas:

UF's Master Plan includes a conservation element covering the Conservation Areas on campus. There are 447 acres of wetland and upland areas on main campus in 31 Conservation Areas that are covered in 23 specific area plans that fall under the umbrella of the Conservation Area Land Management plan (CALM).

These plans provided the framework for the Conservation Element of the Campus Master Plan. They also help to fulfill the University's role as Pilot for the Audubon International Cooperative Sanctuary (University or College) Program. The University of Florida was the first university in the country to set university wide environmental planning standards with this nonprofit organization.


The website URL where information about the institution’s biodiversity policies and programs(s) is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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